Chew Toy
by SpikyFloof
Summary: Toga's having a rough morning thanks to his little pup.


Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. They're the property of Rumiko Takahashi

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Toga, the Great Dog Demon, Lord of the West, the Inu no Taisho, one of the most powerful, feared, and respected demons in all of Japan was currently feeling anything but. He was exhausted. He was whatever was beyond exhausted. His eyes were gritty and his head seemed to be filled with wet wool. Scrubbing his long hair dry with a towel, he had just returned to his bed chambers to get dressed for the day. He yawned widely as he gazed longingly at his bed. He could barely remember the last time he didn't feel dull and stupid with fatigue. All due to one tiny little pup.

His mate had recently given birth to their first child. And he hadn't gotten more than an hour or two of sleep at a time ever since. For something that was supposed to spend most of the time sleeping, Sesshomaru never seemed to sleep. At least, not at night when Toga _didn't_ have obligations to his lands and people keeping him awake. Sesshomaru seemed perfectly content to sleep during the day and then spend the night wailing or fussing or wanting to play. When he was actually able to form a coherent thought, Toga swore Sesshomaru would be his _only_ child. He wasn't certain he could go through this again. Everyone said it would pass shortly. Toga was convinced everyone was lying. It had already been an eternity. Well, perhaps it had only been a few months. But it certainly _felt_ like an eternity.

Oh, he greatly loved his son. He simply wished the pup would get his sleep cycle in synch with the day/night cycle that the rest of them followed. Toga wasn't certain how many more sleepless nights he could take before turning into a complete zombie. Musing on what an inu yokai zombie would be like, Toga managed to finish getting dressed and sat down to pull on his boots. He slipped his foot into one then frowned as he realized his other boot was missing. He glanced around but didn't see it. He checked the closet, under the bed, nothing. He thought back, his not-yet-fully-awake mind still fuzzy. He was certain he'd taken his shoes off and placed them where he always did the previous evening. Fairly certain. Maybe? He yawned again.

Grumbling, Toga went to check the bath and his study. He had no idea why he would have removed his shoes there but the missing one was obviously not in the bedroom. On his way to the door his bare foot came down on something wet. A second later his sensitive nose realized what it was.

"Sesshomaru…" he sighed. The pup had obviously had another accident. And on his mate's favorite carpet, no less. He summoned a servant to have the rug cleaned. He would be very glad when the pup learned to transform. At the moment, Sesshomaru was literally a puppy in every sense of the word; he was a silver furred pup with oversized paws and floppy ears. A purple crescent moon adorned his forehead and magenta stripes framed his muzzle; they would turn to stripes across his cheeks when in a humanoid form. He was too young to transform as his parents could. And - like the inu yokais' lesser cousins – was prone to inopportune accidents. They never seemed to occur on the tile or wood floors. No, the pup always seemed to manage to hit the rugs. The large and expensive ones.

Toga rubbed his foot against the carpet to dry it. _What are those things Humans use on their young? Diapers? I would give half the treasury if someone could come up with the equivalent for my pup!_

He was still pondering this when his mate entered the room. Noticing his distraction and absent rubbing his foot across the floor, she asked. "What is wrong, my mate?"

"I can't find my other shoe," Toga muttered petulantly, remembering his initial problem. He was tired and his foot now smelled like pee.

"Did you check in the closet? Under the bed? You do tend to kick them off and leave them laying around, you know."

"I looked. And I do not!" he protested indignantly.

"Hm. I'm certain it will turn up. It's probably wherever my missing slippers have gone. Most likely one of the servants took it to be repaired or cleaned. You _do_ tromp through every mud puddle you come across."

 _"_ I do not!" A single raised eyebrow told him he was not about to win this argument. "If the servants took it, they could at least tell me, first," he muttered. He changed the subject. "Have you seen Sesshomaru this morning?"

"He was asleep when I checked on him an hour ago. He should be waking up shortly."

 _Sleeping. Lucky pup!_ "I'll check on him." Still only half-shod, Toga trudged out of the room and down the hall to his son's room, gathering his hair and fumbling to tie it up. He succeeded in getting the still-damp silver mane into a high pony-tail as he reached Sesshomaru's room. He opened the door quietly in case the pup was still asleep. He needn't have bothered.

Sesshomaru lay in the middle of the floor surrounded by the multi-colored remains of Inukimi's slippers. In his mouth was Toga's missing boot, the leather punctured by the needle-like puppy teeth. He growled softly in pleasure as he gnawed on the shoe. His teeth ached and his father's shoes were just the right texture to soothe them – not too soft like his mother's shoes that easily shred, and not too hard like the furniture he'd chewed.

His mouth aching when he'd awoken that morning, he'd gone to his parents' room in search of them, hoping they could offer some relief. Finding the rooms empty, his attention had been caught by the colorful array of his mother's slippers. Curious, he'd picked one up only to find he liked the smooth, silky texture. He'd stuffed as many as he could carry into his mouth and run back to his room to play with his prizes. Much to his disappointment the delicate shoes had shredded easily. He'd returned to find his father's boots. An experimental bite had proved they were much more satisfying for chewing. They had been too large and heavy for him to carry more than one. So he'd returned with the single boot and was now happily gnawing away on it.

The pup looked up as Toga walked in. His fluffy tail wagged happily as he beamed, pleased to show off his skill in hunting down something to help with his aching teeth all by himself.

"Sesshomaru…" Toga sighed upon seeing the mess. His shoe was ruined but he couldn't bring himself to scold the happy pup. He crouched down and Sesshomaru climbed into his lap as he scratched behind his ears. He rolled onto his back, exposing his belly for his father to rub. A few minutes later, his mouth began aching again. Reflexively, he nipped at the free hand that was near his face.

"Ow!" Toga said, pulling his hand back. "No, Sesshomaru!"

The pup looked up at him and growled softly in annoyance. Toga frowned. On sudden inspiration, he opened the pup's mouth. The gums were slightly red and swollen where it was clear he was teething.

 _That explains the chewing,_ he thought ruefully as he scratched the floppy ears again. He picked up his boot and examined it. It was beyond repair. With a shrug, he pulled off his other boot and tossed it beside the chewed one. "You might as well have the pair," he said.

Sesshomaru yipped happily and began working furiously at his new toy with his tiny puppy teeth. Toga chuckled at his son's enthusiasm. He looked around at the mess and shook his head, his long silver pony-tail swinging from side to side. Kimi was not going to be happy when she learned the fate of her slippers.

Toga rose to his feet. He needed to see about having new boots made and getting his mate's slippers replaced. Perhaps the cobbler would have something suitable for Sesshomaru to chew on that would be more enticing than his parents' footwear.

"Come, Sesshomaru. Let us see if we can't find you something less troublesome to gnaw on."

The pup bounded around in excitement, nearly tripping him on the way out the door.

 _You are so going to be an only child, my son_ , Toga mused as he hurried to catch up to the pup.

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Author's Notes: This story was inspired by our new puppy. A big, white, fluffy, Great Pyrenees puppy my Spawns decided _had_ to be named Sesshomaru (that's him in the pic). A couple of weeks ago, Sesshomaru discovered shoes. Specifically, that he really likes chewing on shoes. At least my Sesshomaru sleeps at night (though my kids didn't!). Which led to this little story. I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews, comments, and constructive criticisms are always welcome.


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